Unprecedented times

WOW! If someone would have showed me a picture of 2020 last year I would have freaked out!
Masks, empty streets, coffins... how, when, what happened?! Any good things to see, please?

We are currently living in a pandemic! I mean, many have gone through wars and unfortunately are going through horrible situations around the world right now, but something that is affecting the whole world at the same time, it is unprecedented.

People need to keep distance from each other, we are scared if people walk or pass by too close to us, we think twice before touching an elevators' button.. All things we did daily without realising that it would be ever relevant someday. Have you ever thought as much as pushing an elevator button before?

Have you thought about it? What? Pushing a button, bumping into someone "oh, sorry!", something drops on the floor and you pick it up "hey sir, you dropped this".. You hold the door for someone else to come in, you bring coffee to your colleagues...

It's unprecedented! Such simple gestures and mundane things out of life becoming your focus, or even an obsession for some. I wonder how are we adapting to this... We change, we adapt, we move forward, that's what we should always do, right? But.. how long would it take anyways? How long do we need to reset. I would like to see a picture of 2021! I hope we will have something nice to see, until then.. let's focus on the good things it has brought us so far. Still, it's, yes... never seen before, never imagined, never expected, seriously, unprecedented!

Hey everyone! Such a long time! I almost forgot I have a blog... hahaha!

I have so many funny and nice moments to share but most of the times we only end up sharing those with our friends and family and maybe it would be also very nice to share it to the "world".

Anyways, soon I will make a new post here after such a long time, just to catch up and bring life back to this simple blog.

Enjoy your day!

Say grace before, but just eat it... and enjoy!

So I was thinking how often we have double standards! Hahahaha! I remember talking to someone about food and kitchen hygiene some time ago... Honestly, since I live abroad, there are some things which before I could have considered a bit repulsive but now they seem quite normal to me or even I don't notice anymore...

Well anyways, there are some people who in fact don't like to do some things in their kitchen because they find it horrible or disgusting... or like there are so many bacteria around, etc.. etc, they could not handle it if they saw it happening... But hey, whenever you go to a restaurant to eat, do you truly believe the food is made the same way you do it home? Or by your standards...? Or even when you buy bread at the bakery, do you think they don't touch the bread or do you think that bread is just there magically and through that whole process nobody ever touched it?

Honestly, since I visited other cities and towns, got to know many people from different countries and cultures, just seeing the different way people cook, the way they handle the food, it makes me just realize that we are all here today because God is good and it's a miracle we are alive. HAHAHA.

You know what? Just eat it, just enjoy the food where you are... Have people washed their hands before preparation? It's a matter of faith here, a matter of trust! We don't know! We didn't see it, but we just don't think about it when we order a delicious salad... (Did they wash it?), or if we order something with a red sauce and minced meat (was that meat leftovers from another plate?) or even the fries we get (were they just in someone else's plate before mine...?)

We don't know! We believe it was properly served. But the thing is, we never really know. So, why do we keep judging someone else's cooking habits instead of just enjoying it as if we would do it in a restaurant... Right? Let's eat it and be thankful we have food in our plate! If it wasn't washed or clean, well, they will be digested soon enough, there is a powerful acid in your stomach which will do its job but before anything, just say grace! (LOL)

And now? Have to wait... 15 minutes?!

Sometimes we tend to be quite negative about waiting for things to happen. We live in a society that wants things now, and not just now, it has to be at the speed of a click. Have you noticed? We begin to feel uncomfortable when there is a delay and we HAVE TO WAIT. For instance, when we are going to get a train and suddenly we see the expected arrival time with a delay "+ 15 minutes delay". We can hear people sighing already. "Pfff.... delayed! 15 minutes??! Unbelievable!" :D - People, come on, spend some time in Brazil, you will know what delay looks and feels like - But ok, I understand them, no judgements here.

The thing is, not everything happens in our time and we need to deal with that. We want things now. We want them to happen so we tend to find it very hard to wait or we may even take actions which we might regret just because we could not wait a bit longer. The fact we need to wait forces us to be in control of ourselves. Our mind will go planning alternative routes or maybe just feeling miserable while waiting and this should be different... Don't you think? Would you want to feel miserable every time you don't get what you want it at the time you want it. Life is full of surprises, if we need to wait for something, why not change your attitude to adapt to that. How do you see this situation now? How do you deal with it (in your mind and with your emotions?).

Have to wait? Take a cup of coffee (tea, - insert favourite drink). Enjoy the view, see if there are birds around? Maybe something interesting to see? Someone looks friendly? Have a chit-chat, do something while waiting. Maybe you won't even notice that 15 minutes just flies by... And life, real life, goes with it. So make it worth it. ;-)

Who are those people?

I've been going to the park and I noticed some strange people there sometimes. I don't know exactly how this happened and where they came from... The weather was quite good, sunny and then I noticed that some people were sitting on the grass, others on the benches talking (facing each other?!). There were a few playing some kind of game, I suppose? On the grass! All that and, believe me, they were not even holding their phones. WEIRD! They seemed happy, which I thought it was crazy, how was that possible... How can it be, no phone? Very weird people, not normal at all... Who are they?
:D

The running code

Facial expression as part of body language is certainly a universal language. Of course considering differences of culture here and there we may agree that certain things are internationally recognized and accepted. Example: you pass by someone, look at them and smile. That is a friendly gesture. Everybody gets it. Also, if you would be really angry and feel annoyed by somebody, you could be very clear about it, probably by many different ways (some people can be really good at this) hehehehe, but well, the other person usually gets it. You may be in a totally different country with a different language but you will understand each other.

Interesting enough, I am not sure if you ever heard of it, but, there is a running code. Yes, a running code. The running code is a very used code among runners/joggers. Perhaps you may not be part of this specific group, hence, your confused face right now. But hey... It exists. It's there. It's quite common among us. The code is what makes us unique. The code brings us together. The code pushes us further. Yep.. The running code!

When you are running and you see someone also running in your direction you get prepared to use the code. In fact, there are different types of the code. Some just use the eyebrows (the simple code), others use the wave - hand up or waving (the friendly code), some prefer the smile (the sympathetic code) and a few would use the victory sign (the amicable encouraging code), this one is my favorite, personally.

Well.. Now you know about the code, the running code. I tell you, it's universal. No matter where your sneakers would bring you, the code will be applicable. Make sure you make use of it ;-)

What is Casual about Friday? ;-)

The concept of "Casual Friday" is very common in formal companies. Employees wear suits and formal clothes from Monday to Thursday and then Friday comes. Some companies may be more strict and they are not really into the Casual Friday thing. And yet, for other companies, everyday is Casual Friday :D.

As a matter of fact, everything you do everyday will become routine, habitual. But once there is something different, somehow, this thing becomes suddenly special. That's how it goes: you dress up the whole week, wearing a suit, skirt, high heels and then you get used to it. There is nothing new about it. But Friday it's the day you get to wear something normal, regular and you can be comfortable wearing just simple clothes.

You are the whole week wearing your formal clothes and suddenly you find yourself building up a feeling towards Friday: WOW, it's Casual Friday so I will wear something normal. But, in this case, the regular and normal becomes special and you get to wear those nice comfy clothes you dream about all week... Isn't this just cool? Casual Friday is actually the most special day of the week and you are wearing jeans.... Awesome! Gotta LOVE Friday! It's a special day people! The most special DAY!
But ok... Is Friday, really casual then ... ? ;-)

Just 3 more times...

You know what they say: "No pain, no gain". It's very common to find this sentence on facebook or instagram motivational posts and it's usually associated with physical exercises. True. No pain, no gain. If you don't apply yourself, go for it and make sacrifices you will see no results.

A friend of mine said her trainer would tell her: "Whenever you feel like you can't do anything anymore, whenever you are feeling like you are done and that you can't even move anymore: just do it 3 more times. If you can do that, go beyond your pain... Then you will see results". 

Wow... "Do it 3 more times"...  It sounds really hard. Can you imagine? You think you can't do it anymore but then you just do it. Just go for it... Just 3 more times.

It's quite convenient to just settle for what's easy. We are made for pleasure. Our body loves the comfort zone. We love enjoyable things, we always avoid pain. This is a mind set. If you are used to doing certain things, you would naturally go for the easy one; you will prefer to do what you've being doing. But once you go beyond that comfort zone you may reach a new threshold. You would have overcome your old you.

Isn't that a good feeling when you see yourself in a new level? When you have that feeling of accomplishment? Funny, cause this isn't only about exercises. I think the same principle can be applied for basically anything else in your life: a difficult task at work, a challenging situation, a fear you may have of doing something and so on...

With each new step, conquest or victory there is a price to be paid for it. A price, meaning it will cost you something. Great things in life usually don't come to you without any effort. You need to pay the price. You need to take the risks.Whatever you may go through, whether it be exercises in the gym or a very demanding job role, a social challenge  forcing you to face your fears, go for it and do it. Think about the results;  it will be hard, it may be difficult, perhaps you can't move... but just remember: do it 3 more times. 

Bye now, take care!

Recently I moved to this place which, by the way, 5 years ago, I was very nearby looking for an apartment... Funny how life goes. I still remember the day I parked the car near the park and I was sitting on this bench and thinking how strangely home I felt. I don't know why, but it just felt like home that day, it was a day somewhere between June and October 2011... Anyways, now I am living near this place. Really nice!

So today I was just leaving the door when I heard my neighbor arriving at his apartment next to mine and I waited for him to come upstairs to introduce myself. This was the first time I saw him. So far I just heard footsteps and now I could see his face hahaha. So I introduced myself and ... (I don't remember his name now, jeezz... :P But well, I doubt he remembers mine either! ;-) hehehe ) but oke, we had a little chit chat. The chit chat people!!! Neighbors being neighbors! Yep! He is from Germany but lives here for more than 10 years.

The thing about the chit chat is that, well, sometimes we may get these awkward silences or pauses or we may not know how to end the conversations, specially when you don't know the other person very well, of course, it's much different when you know each other, but well... Anyways... I sometimes need to learn to be comfortable with silence or just say something normal like normal people say such as: "Nice meeting you, bye now!". "Hey, have a nice evening, take care now!" But no... no, I, of course, had to say: "Oh, ok! Well, if you need anything, just let me know". I will repeat that: "If you need anything, just let me know".... Do you copy that?! HAHAHA!  huh? yep... So I paused... I thought to myself: "What did I just say?" :D

Am I hearing myself now? "If you need anything, let me know". Do I really mean that? Do we hear ourselves sometimes? Now all of a sudden I am saying that if he needs something he can let me know. Hahahaha! Of course it may sound strange, but the bottom line was that I am there and in case he would need something, just being friendly, showing some neighborly support and all. Of course, we are living on this planet for a reason besides working, paying taxes, eating and doing our stuff. We are people and by that I mean human beings with feelings and hearts and we care.

But this statement is not totally true... Cause, it got me thinking, on the other hand, if he would need chocolate? If he would need MY CHOCOLATE? Aaaahhhhhh my friend.... I am terribly sorry! I am Sooooo sorry for ya! He would better keep his own at home cause or else, I can't help you, dear neighbor! Bye now! Bye... Take care now!

Are you really sure you really know?

Sometimes we have an idea about something and we think that this thought is so true that it's irrefutable. We think this thought it's the reality and that's why the other person or other people also think the same about it. In other words, we create a "truism". That thought is so true that you assume the other person thinks the exact same thing about it. The problem is, it can be tricky if we are stuck in this "reality" if that is not in fact reality, don't you agree? If we are wrong? Have you ever thought about it? That you can be wrong? :D

Sometimes we think we know what the other person is thinking and, wow, we can be reaaaaaally wrong about it ;-)

Hahahahahah! If I may give an example... Can I? It happened recently with me, well, not with me, but there is a dog in the story. Does this count? hahahahaha! 

Last time I was in a park near my place I saw a couple with a dog. Such a cutie cutie thing, ahhhh!! It was a nice afternoon at the park, the sun was half shinning, half hiding, but anyways, it was a beautiful day. So, I noticed this couple and this dog. The man was shouting at the dog "Harbie, it's here, Harbie! It's here". (I don't remember if the dog was called Harbie, ok?) so the man was calling the dog and pointing at the ball near him to show to the dog where the ball was, while the dog was walking in another direction.

The man kept on "Harbie, the ball is here, look, look, Harbie! Here!". The dog walked further and further away, and sometimes walked a bit back, sniffing here and sniffing there, with his ears up, coming a little back but still sniffing and looking away, minding his own business, sometimes looking back at his owner like "Why are you yelling?!" 

Oke oke... So, here is the big question: Do you guys really think that the dog didn't know where the ball was? :D Honestly... Just to tell you, the ball was very near him, but do you think he wasn't aware of that?? LOL. Smart dog... he took his own time doing his own thing, living life as if there was no tomorrow hahahahaha. But hey, the owner thought that the dog didn't know where the ball was. But the dog, just wanted to be his own boss at that moment. He wanted to do his own thing: "Come on guys.... Leave me alone for a second, will you? Keep thinking I am that stupid and that I don't know where the ball is... I just want to find out what's with this little bush right up here..."

Oke, so you are probably thinking now that I am overthinking and that actually that dog didn't indeed know where the ball was and was lost... That is a possibility. Would this be true? We would need to ask the dog, but hey.. Maybe he would not share his little secret, or else he will lose his precious time next time... So, leave it ;-)

But ok... Back to what I was saying, now after the dog illustration, (hahaha love pets!) What we're thinking can be so wrong sometimes while dealing with other people, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, we can be way way off! So, put yourself together and don't rely on your own understanding about things (Proverbs 3:5). The truth will eventually come to the surface so don't assume you know all about it and then make conclusions, you may be completely wrong about it. 

I am pro choice: ELEVATOR!

Recently I was in a friend's house and went out for a run. When I returned I called the elevator and got in and there was this man inside. He saw I was sweating and was just doing exercises and he quickly said to me: "Well, taking the stairs would be also another good exercise". Hahahaha.... I said to him: "Oh really? Well, I have no idea how I get to the stairs, I am visiting my friend and I never took the stairs, I even have no idea how. Always when I visit her I take the elevator, I have no idea how to get to the stairs". He then said: "Oh oh, well, you need a key for that, you can't get the stairs without a key. It's not possible." After this he was a bit ashamed of his own comment... hehehehe!!!

But okay, and if I did have a key?! Can I take the ELEVATOR people?!! Can I just take the elevator, please??? Can I just choose?

:D

Freedom of choice: I AM PRO ELEVATORS !

No statement, just be!

It's interesting to pay attention to people's behavior sometimes.

Have you ever being nice to someone who is not nice to you and you continue being nice but somehow it will be like as if you would be making a statement?

In other words, the person acts rude (nothing personal) but you act nice back and because of that, somehow, it would look as if you are trying to make a point, but in fact, you are not and you are just acting normal, but because you are acting normal the other person may think you are trying to make a statement or trying to make them look bad because of their behavior?

Hahahahaha! It's just really funny to notice... Some people would not care at all or even notice that you just acted normal, but some people may adjust their behavior... And in fact, change....

Funny?

As a matter of fact, I do find it funny to socialize with different people. I think I can learn so much from this and I love the experience. Well, rude or not, just be who you are, respecting people is obviously a must. We are allowed to be cranky, moody and show emotions, as long as we care for each other; we are in a society and people matter. No statement, just be! 

2015 is still here...

It's the most wonderful time, of the year...

Yeah! Here we are again folks. It's almost Christmas!

The year has basically packed its bags and is ready to leave...

Think about what you have done this year.

Think about the good things you had.

Don't focus on what you did not do (unless you are planning to do it next year).

Just enjoy and cherish the good moments and lessons you learned.

Enjoy November, it's still here and enjoy 2015, it still did not leave yet

;-)

Happy November!

Monday feeling

What's up with Monday feelings?
Anyone...?
Anyone...?

Sometimes I wake up feeling like I am going to start doing lots and lots of things... Cleaning, ironing, dusting, organizing shelves, donating old stuff, lots of activities... Even like painting a room of something... Hahahaha

I wonder if this is a normal Monday feeling...

:/

Rain, let it rain!

These days have been quite warm in Brasília and we have that feeling like as if we were living in the middle of the desert, far away from the sea... oh wait, that is actually it :D We are far away from the sea and Brasília is often compared to the desert!

But we do have a lake here, it's called Paranoá. It's a very charming place. We can go there and there are some restaurants and kiosks selling coconut water and ice cream. This is our brasiliense pride, our "beach".

Often people complain about the weather. It happens everywhere, all around the world. When it's too cold people complain. When it's too hot, people complain. When it's summer time (the clock goes 1 hour forward) people complain, clock goes back, people complain. And so on... Whatever happens, people will always complain.

Now with the hot weather, what can we say? We want rain! "Let it rain please, God". But I guess we are right this time ;-) It's been too long without a drop of rain and this year is unusually dry. So now our hopes for rain are legitimate. We need rain! It's coming... It will rain today they said on the News... However... What will happen after it starts raining a lot? That's right... People will complain... But you know what? Who cares, let it rain... Come on! :D

Some girls get it all wrong

Ok everybody knows that men are different than women. That is a fact, not a story made up by someone who wishes to say that men are superior or that women are the real bosses.
Nope.
And I don't even want to spend time discussing such arguments, cause they are pretty much useless anyway. Not worth the time.

My point is: women sometimes can get it all wrong. Now you may ask why, why? Because we want to understand everything and we think we know everything and that we are in control of everything. Besides that, we think that men need to understand us. We expect men to do what we want them to do. But they can't understand us completely, he will be your partner, but don't try to make him understand you! He won't.
It's not that he doesn't want it, trust me, he wishes he could! But he is not capable of understanding fully what you go through.

That is the reason why we should have great female friends. We girls speak the same language, we understand each other, we are from Venus! Hahaha (tell if you did read that book: "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus". If you didn't, I strongly recommend! In this book, the author will go through many of our differences (men and women) and obviously nobody is exactly like the other, but the facts are there, it's science. We are different.

Well, if we are different why do you, girl, expect that your partner will understand you? That he will do exactly what you would expect him to? He won't be able to, because he is not supposed to. He is your partner, and he will be there to help and complete the part which you are not able to do it, and you will do the same in his life. He will assist, you both will be two people merged into one.

Now what truly upsets me is that girls are so often competing with each other, being jealous or avoiding friendship with girls when they are in a relationship. This is a very bad decision. Once you are in a relationship, you are not supposed to make that one person your center, NO! And God forbid you date someone who tries to make you their center, NO, that is a big NO NO! Run, run, run far away from him!

Back to the problem: girls compete instead of helping each other. Being competitive is not a sign of being great, I am sorry girls, but that's a sign of weakness. Why would you ever consider competing? What do you think you are doing? How can people who are unique compete to one another? That is just not possible!
Instead of competing, feeling bad about something that you think (inside your own small head) that you should have, be happy for who you are. Be happy for what you have, be happy and try to be the person you know you can be (by improving something you think it's important, by doing something nice to and for yourself) think about it.

Being happy about someone else's success is a sign of maturity. You can only know you are mature when you finally know who you are and know your place in life. Just think about this. Cultivate your friendships, don't make any man your center, nobody takes that place in your life except God. Do that girl. Be mature. Be a friend to someone who needs you. Get it all right, from now on... Be who God designed you to be! What do you say?

Nice Brazilians x Corruption??!

Sometime ago I was speaking to someone at a friend's party about Brazilian culture. He was from USA and moved to Brasília recently. He said he could not understand why there is so much corruption in Brazil. He could not believe as he feels people are so nice, the country is so beautiful and yet has such a high level of corruption.

I remember talking about it with another friend who also lived abroad several years. I told her the same. How come there is so much corruption in Brazil? What is in it's culture that opens that type of door for this behavior? People are friendly, sometimes in a queue at the supermarket, we just start chatting, at the bus stop, people try to help you, on the street, they are so warm and nice. In Europe, on the other hand, you don't feel people are that friendly. Depending where you are, you may need help and they won't even look at you. Once my car broke down right in front of a supermarket in Barendrecht and my mom and I were trying to turn the engine on again by pushing it, and I saw men walking down the street and they saw us too, and no.. THEY DID NOT STOP TO HELP US.
Hahahahhahaha!!! They didn't care at all, that 2 women were having car issues, they just ignored us completely. Now if that would be in Brazil, in a matter of 30 seconds, there would appear men out of houses, bushes, stopping cars to help us out...

Interesting to notice this difference in culture during traffic. Europeans are cold people and not so often very friendly. In Brazil people are very friendly and very helpful. But what happens when they get in a car?!! What happens in traffic?!! CRAZY! People in Brazil drive like they are the only ones. They are extremely egoist and they don't think about the others. In Europe however, just the opposite. They drive thinking about others and being very conscious about the rules. How can we explain that? I am sure a sociologist or perhaps psychologists have a good opinion and plausible explanation for that, but sometimes it's quite difficult to grasp.

It's hard to accept that corruption is so common in Brazil, and at the same time seeing how people can be so caring then why they don't think about the interests of others as well when they are in a public environment or deal with public money? Perhaps there are many explanations to that, and obviously there are also exceptions but I just wonder if this will ever change. This is what we all hope for. Friendlier people and less corruption!

Yes! That is who I want to be when I grow up

Today I had spend a great time with a dear friend. We drank coffee and spoke about trips, life, people and culture, subjects which I am really a big fan. Besides the coffee we ate some nice cake as well. I also tried the Chai tea, apparently it is Indian, it has some exotic taste, with herbs like cardamom, and I believe cloves too. I recommend this place,  it's called Torteria di Lorenza, a cozy place with some interesting food options.

After we met, I was heading home and then I noticed that there was a traffic jam. So I thought to myself, well, I will probably spend as much time as I would to get home if I just decide to wait somewhere else. So I drove around and stopped at another charming little coffee place: Fran's café. It is quite popular and I have never been to this one in particular. The environment was oke, the atmosphere also quite inviting. I saw the menu and many good options were there for coffee and dishes. I chose their special, Frans Café cappuccino chocolate, something like that, and I also ordered some sweet churros (Gosh, am I a sweet tooth or what? Heck, that's why I go to gym anyways...) It was delicious. The churros were served with some doce de leite and it was decent.

When I was sitting there I was having some funny thoughts... Hummmmmmm. I started to think: "I should be a food critic". If I was sent out by some magazine, for instance, I could sit there, and evaluate the place, eat the food, order all I could have, all dishes, eat half of them and still didn't even have to bother to pay for the food, cause, well, they would probably pay for me cause the very reason I would go there was this important mission: eat the food and provide a review. I can't help but to say what a luxurious life these food critics have... Come on! These people are paid to eat?? Hello??? Is this real? Ohhhhhhhhh oh,  I know who I want to be when I grow up!! :D

Later I continued with these incredible thoughts... Hummmmmm,  "How about the servants", if they started to pay attention to me, and if I was some kind of food expert, they would probably want to please me even more... Huh... They will notice I would be there to judge their food and establishment and they would definitely serve with a much bigger smile. :D. Not that they were not serving well tonight, in fact, I really liked their service, very polite, friendly and professional, didn't take long, they were very attentive, I am impressed. But can you imagine if I was the food critic? And they knew they were under trial? Hummmmmm ha ha! NICE! I could just imagine them being even nicer!!! WOW! What a fantastic service I would get, huh?

At some point I thought, well... If I can maybe pretend I am a food critic, get inside the room, looking around, with a analytical face on, you know? Like, paying attention at the decoration, hand on the chin... "Hummmmm, sir, can you please tell me: who is the chef? What his/her name?... Where are the toilets located ? How many people can be in this establishment? Hummmmm Ahan....." If I started asking those questions, maybe I could get away with it? :D Could they suspect me? Cause of course they should not know a food critic is in the house but they could just suspect...
Then when the food arrives, look at it, how it's presented, checking it very carefully before eating, slower, with that same analytical, quasi judgmental face on, observing, focused. Take a spoon, look at it, from different angles, smell it, and then just eat it and continue.. (Important: the look has to be the same, very focused and not easily impressed). So, would I sell as a food critic? Huh? I wondered...
Bahhhhh, but then it hit me: I would have to pay the bill afterwards anyways... Darn!

Cozy days

It's funny, when I was in Holland, every time the sun was shinning it gave me the warm feeling of Brazil... And now that I am back to Brazil, every time the clouds are there... I think about Holland...
How crazy?! Hahahahahaha!!!!

Well.. this morning it was a very cloudy day! Not like the song from Temptations, hahaha... But it does make me feel like getting a nice book, watching a great movie and enjoying the cold days.

Welcome again, Holland.. Ops, well.. Brazil... It feels funny
;-)

Pleasure is addicting...

Today I was thinking about the diets and life style we have and how we function.

Well, most of us love to go out for a nice dinner, or just to sit relaxed at home with a nice bucket of popcorn... Hummmmm... Food gives us pleasure, and it's comforting, specially right after a difficult day. Food works, in this case, like a gratification: you grant yourself a nice bonus after a day of hard work.. ;-)

But what does that entail? You work hard or study and go to gym (or do any type of physical activity) and then you think to yourself: "I deserve a nice piece of cake today..." or perhaps "I deserve some wine and cheese, well, why not some peanuts, nuts as well?" Why not...?

Obviously, you can't stick to only one single piece of that nice cake, you never stop on the first glass of wine (at least not on your best inspiring moments I suppose hahaha). The point is: Pleasure is addicting...

What could be the problem with this then? No problem at all! In life, we are supposed to enjoy the little things. In fact, you may indulge yourself once in a while with something you like. I am talking about food, but you can easily think about other kind of gratification, for instance, going to the mall, playing a game, doing something that gives you pleasure.

We are designed to feel pleasure. It's much easier to go do something you enjoy than to do something that gives you discomfort. If you could choose, you choose pleasure over pain. However, pain is part of life. You need to apply yourself for something bigger. You need to make an effort in order to get something in return. Nobody can only have pleasure and still have a purpose in life. We hear about some people who are considered the richest in the planet, when they live such idle lives, aimless without  a purpose, they may find themselves very bored and useless, because deep down, we, human beings, need discipline and targets in life. We need purpose.

Whenever we feel like eating something really special right after a nice productive week, we are actually telling ourselves: yes, you deserve this, you earned this. That is even another reason to look for. After accomplishing something, you give yourself the well deserved pleasure. Interesting huh? It's almost like a vicious circle. If you think about diet and life style... Well, each day you get one step further to your goal, without such heavy burdens... Unless you over indulge yourself... hahaha, well.. at least you have a new goal after that!